Exceptionalism = Unusual ; not typical. Reading the Philosophers Notes for Dr Bob Rotella’s great book How Champions Think I was struck by the following statement:
“One of the concepts I struggle with when I work with people both inside and outside of sport is reality. … My job with such people is to get them to understand and believe that exceptional people create their own reality. The average person won’t set a goal unless he thinks, and people close to him think, that he has at least a fifty-fifty chance of reaching it. That’s what the average person considers a realistic goal. The average person takes account of all the information that’s out there saying he can’t do something. If let’s say, he thinks about committing himself to become the best basketball player he can be and getting a college scholarship, he’ll be aware of the fact that maybe one high school player in thirty gets a college scholarship. Since that seems to make the odds a lot worse than fifty-fifty, the average person is likely to give up on that goal before he even commits to trying to reach it, settling for mediocrity in high school and giving up the game thereafter.
The exceptional person, the person who does great things, doesn’t see things that way. The exceptional person has a vision—of great performances, of a great career, of a great something— and doesn’t care about what others might say or think. He ignores information that suggests his dream is unrealistic. He just sets about making that vision a reality. He sees things before others see them. He creates his own reality. Afterwards, other people may say to him, ‘We knew you could do it. We always sensed you were going to be one of the great ones.’ But that’s probably not what he heard in the beginning. In the beginning, he probably heard, ‘You have to be crazy to think you can do that.’”
Rotella says: Average people are “realistic.” Exceptional people CREATE their reality.
So how does society relate to exceptionalism, here are some of the things they say:
1. As part of exceptionalism, you must relate to the above koan, because you will not always win.
2. Aren’t we always looking for a sign from God to confirm what we already know, here it is: Gods Plan.
3. From The Monk who sold his Ferrari, luck has nothing to do with being exceptional, you need to put in the hard yards.
4. When you ran those ten extra laps when you were a kid, I can still hear my friends calling me crazy, I later became a marathoner: Crazy, Sexy, Wild.
5. More Ferrari moments.
6. We create a box early on in our life so people can recognise us, how do you expand it to fit in your amazing: Lose Yourself.
7. A new standard of imagination, they don’t teach that to you in schools.
8. Nothing to get in your way as you approach your greatness, they are all left behind: Go The Extra Mile.
9. Back to the 14th Century and the founder of the Jesuits for a quote that is still relevant today, the former deeds are what makes the difference.
10. Actress, model, dancer and humanitarian, Audrey Hepburn lived and walked the talk of the second interpretation of the above letters: La Vie En Rose.
11. Find the others who will say it about you, they are your keepers.
12. Because its Maya, and she was exceptional: Love Liberates.
13. Another word for Exceptionalism.
14. Nine to Five is not it: Nine to Five.
15. There is no right way for exceptionalism, you have to do what it takes.
Life is a precious (!!!) gift. We’re blessed with an opportunity to see just how good we can be at something we love doing. We get to have a ball for many years seeing how many beautiful things we can do with our lives. For each of us, this is unique. Get out there on the journey to what is your exceptional gift to give to humanity.
Today’s playlist wanders over the generations, something for the millennials and the grandparents. We begin with Drake and Inna for the younger at heart. Back to the beginning of rap with Eminem. Spoken word from Motivation 2016 comes next then from Grannies time Audrey Hepburn, is that French? We finish with two iconic women, Maya Angelou and Dolly Parton. Here’s the link: I saw that – Karma.
Namaste until next time, my dear friends:
I am an Interculturalist 